Railway-rail joint.



yNrrED TETES i ETEN ENCE.

RAILWAY-RAIL JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Lef/ters Patent NO. 651,895, dated. J' une 19, 1900.

Application filed December 5 1898. Serial No. 698,291. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN WALTER STEVENS, acitizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Rail Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway-rail joints; and it consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter shown and described, and specifically pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a plan View, of one of the joints complete and attached to sections of railway-rails. Fig. 3 is a cross-section showing all the parts united as in use, and Fig. 4 is a similar view partially distended or separated. Fig. 5 is an end view of the tie-plate detached, and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the tie-plate on the line a; m of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the anglebars detached.

A A2 represent sections of the adjacent ends of two railway-rails abutting in the ordinary manner.

B B2 are two angle plates or bars embracing the opposite sides of the webs of the rails and secured to the rails by the usual bolts a, the perforations for the bolts being elongated longitudinally in both the angle-bars and in the rails, as shown at d d2, so that both the rails and angle-bars will be capable of longitudinal adjustment, as hereinafter explained. The lower outer edges e' are formed thinner than the rear or heel portion, as shown more clearly-in Figs. 3, 4, and 7, the lower surface of the angle-plate thus being convex, the object to be hereinafter explained.'

Beneath the adjacent ends of the rails A A2 is a tie-plate D, having shoulders g' g2, embracing the outer edges of the lower, flanges of the rails, and with Iianges D2 D3 rising from the side edges of the tie plate, the flanges having inwardly-trending ribs g8 g4, preferably inclined, as shown.`

The toes e' of the angle-bars BB2 project beneath the inwardly-turned ribs g3 g4 of the tie-plate flanges D2 D2, as shown in Figs. 3 and et.

The toes e of the angle-bars B B2 are upset in long inclines or wedges e2, corresponding to the inclines of the ribs g3 g4, so that as the angle-bars are moved endwise they will wedge beneath the ribs and bind all the parts together.

In setting up the joint the parts are loosely united,asshown. Theangle-barsBB2 will all be precisely alike, so that when placed in position the wedge-shaped portions e2 will lie in reversed positions that is to say, with the low point of one wedgev opposite the high point on the opposite angle-bar. TheA ribs g3 g4 will therefore be likewise inclined in the reverse order, the low end of one -rib `coming opposite the high end of the other rib. Vhen the parts are rst assembled, theangle-bars will be so adjusted that the wedge portions will iit closely beneath the ribs' g2 g4 and with the upper edges of the angle-bars outward away from the webs of the rails A A2, as in Fig. 4. Thenwhen the bolts a are drawn up the angle-bars will rollupon the heel portions e2, elevating the toe portions e and pressing them upward closelybeneath the ribs g2 g4, and thereby firmly clamping all the parts together and not only clamping the angle-bars to the webs of the rails A A2, but also firmly clamping the rails and angle-bars down upon the tie-plate D'. This clamping force maybe still further greatly-increased by driving the angle-bars endwise in opposite directions, thus bringing the reverselyinclined wedges and ribs into coactive relations. The'elongation of the holes in the angle-bars and rails provides for this Wedgelike action. By this simple arrangement a Very irni joint is produced, which not only clamps and supports the ends of the rails, but which provides for the, tightening of the joint when it becomes loosened by driving the Wedge-like anglebars edgewise to wedge them more rmly into theV tie-plate.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- In a railway-rail joint, a base-plate having perpendicular side iianges, each with an inwardly-projecting rib, the under surfaces of said ribs being longitudinally inclined at an angle to the surface of said base-plate and laterally horizontal, rails supportedby their adjacent ends upon said base-plate, anglebars embracing the webs and lower flanges of said rails and projecting, by their outer IOO edges, beneath said inclined ribs, the outer ing said angle-bars endwise, substantially as Io edges of said angle-bars being formed with upset portions; the lupper surfaces of said upset portions being parallel to the under.

surface of and fitting beneath the lower surfaces of said proj eoting ribs, and bolts clamping said angle-bars and rails together, vv'her-l set forth In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN WALTER STEVENS. In presence of- LEWIS D. MANN, C. N. WOODWARD. 

